Guitar Study
The Infinite Guitar Christmas Collection
Total lessons in study:
Grab your axe, sit by the Christmas tree, and sip your eggnog while IG's instructors take you on a Christmas guitar journey!
1. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
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1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Special Performance
Chords
Holiday
Intermediate
Welcome one and all to this very special rendition of the classic Christmas song 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' performed just for you even more special IG'ists.
Snuggle up to the roaring fire and don't forget your steaming cup of cocoa because you won't want to miss this...............
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Hope you all enjoyed that 'special' performance lol!
OK, let's get cracking with this rather festive tutorial of an arrangement I made of this classic Christmas song (NO vocals this time I promise!)
Watch the solo in full and when you're done head on over to part one where we'll look at the piece in more detail.Read More
Welcome to part one!
The opening of this arrangement is very homophonic in nature, using a variety of inversions in block chord format. Take for instance the opening bar. In its most basic form we actually have a c major chord accompanying the melody, however it would be quite boring and a little unexciting not to make use...Read More
This section moves away from the previous homophonic approach and incorporates a lot more changes in rhythm with a more jazzy harmony.
It is essential that you sustain the melody wherever possible as it is imperative that it is distinguishable from the accompanying rhythm and bass.
More often than not, classical guitarist...Read More
OK, now we come to the repeat section which is exactly the same as section 1 up until we get to bar 30.
Bars 31-32 may require a little experimentation with left hand positioning if you are using a classical guitar as access to upper frets is restricted.
At the end of the piece, see if you can recognize where the rhythmic...Read More
2. A Metal Christmas (Medley)
Around this time of year, we begin hearing tons and tons of the traditional songs which serve as landmarks for the season. If you're like myself, things tend to get old after about the 487th time hearing the same tune. In any event, that's what we're here for; breaking free of the mold and applying something we love, year-r...Read More
We start with 'Carol Of The Bells'. Heavily based on the Trans-Siberian Orchestra metal arrangement of the song, here we feel the uplifting effects of some good ol' fashion classical composition. And again, the melodies should 'ring a bell' once you start breaking down each individual section.
The main issue (on a tec...Read More
Up next, the only 'fully original' section of the medley; an arpeggio sequence used as a compositional segway.
Ay 180BPM, 8th notes should be well within our grasp. Some will find 'slower' arpeggios more difficult than 'fast' ones. And the reason being that it's rather difficult to avoid nasty noises with more space for th...Read More
...The basic melody-line from Walter Rollins' 'Frosty The Snowman'!
Be sure to, yet again, focus on phrasing nuances and vibrato; it's important when faced with situations where the melody is slower-paced and heavily carried on the higher register of the guitar.Read More
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. This is the segment where we totally sell-out and play one of the all-time most famous Christmas songs.
Forced into a new meter, 4/4, this is yet another section which heavily revolves around executing a simple melody-line. Notice the smooth legato approach as well as the more stuccato one f...Read More
Check out the full backing track and be sure to post your renditions of the tune on the IG forums!Read More
3. "Carol of the Bells"/"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
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12. Christmas Medley - Carol of the Bells/God Rest
Cool Riffs
Holiday
Intermediate
Merry Christmas everyone!
I wrote this little piece after I heard an excellent song by Trans-siberian Orchestra. They did a medley where they mixed together two Christmas classics: 'Carol of the Bells' and 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'. I thought the two songs sounded great together so I decided to do my own take on it, an...Read More
The first thing to be aware of with this piece is the 3/4 time signature. Except for the very last part of the song, everything will remain in 3/4 time. Before you start learning the piece, make sure you can properly identify the time signature when listening along to the full track. Don't know what a 3/4 time signature is?...Read More
Here we have the second part of the main 'Carol of the Bells' melody.
In bars 13 through 16, we have a different melody than the last lesson, but the rhythmic structure is exactly the same, where we have the following count:
| One Two and Three &nbs...Read More
Now comes the section where we begin playing the 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' theme.
This section begins at a very soft volume and I'd suggest using your picking-hand's thumb to gently play the notes. Look for the 'T' markings under the notes which indicate to use your thumb. When you watch the full track video, you can s...Read More
To close out the piece, we'll be playing a rockin' breakdown that will be sure to wreak havoc on the North Pole. So get ready to rock!
We'll now be playing in a standard 4/4 time signature. If you need a quick overview of that time signature, feel free to check out this lesson. Also, the tempo for this section is a bit slo...Read More
Okay, now it's time to rock out to the backing track. But make sure you drink a lot of eggnog first. The Christmasy magic of eggnog will help you play better!
As always, if you ever make a recording of yourself playing along to the backing track, be sure to post it in the forum so all can hear.
See you next time and Merry...Read More
4. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in the Style of Chet Atkins
Hey fellow IGers! T'is the season once again so let's sink our teeth into another good ol' holiday classic. This month's lesson is comprised of a Chet Atkins-esque finger style arrangement of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer. The most important thing to keep in mind when nailing down a song like this is the melody verses bass...Read More
Alright so let's get started with the main 'Rudolph' verse melody. Most people who exist on planet earth know this melody to some extent, so that part should be rather straight-forward. Just keep in mind, as formentioned, how 'both' parts function together. Try to think of the bass line as well as the melody line as two sep...Read More
So onto the bridge section. This part begins with three descending bar chords, but the structure is much the same; two 'bouncing' bass notes with an overlaying melody. Be sure to fret the barre chords with every ounce strength to produce the cleanest result.Read More
So after the bridge, we're right back to the main verse melody. Reference part one if you're having issues with that section of the tablature. I'll demonstrate the final eight bars of the song in this section. The fingering in measure 53 gets a tad 'tangly', so keep an eye out for that B5add9-esque chord as our pinky is add...Read More
Have fun with the backing track!Read More
5. "Jingle Bells"
Well that time of the year has crept out of nowhere on us all again. So let's get in the spirit of Christmas by taking a look at one of the most popular seasonal tunes of all, 'Jingle Bells'.
This particular arrangement is one I made with the classical guitar in mind although it still sounds great on steel string and even ...Read More
The most technically demanding aspect of this arrangement is the control of the individual voices.
It is a good idea to study the score away from your guitar and grab a pencil and mark in any inner voices that you feel may need specific attention. If you are not aware of these elements, you will miss a vital opportunity to...Read More
Technically, you may find the position shifts need the most work in this section as the alternation between the chords and the octave figures require considerable shifts from a lower to higher position, and vice versa.
If you are playing classical guitar with no cutaway, you will need to take care when accessing the upper ...Read More
6. "Silent Night"
Hey fellow IGers! T'is the season once again. This year, I decided to take a holiday favorite, Silent Night, and arrange it in such a way that is quite simplistic, with the entire melody line playable on two strings. I had some fun with the backing track, to build dynamics, and to give you guys some room to have fun. Since ...Read More
This song is in a three-feel, so be sure to get into the swing of the rhythm before you dive in. There are three verses to the song, so the melody line (as transcribed below) basically repeats three times. There's not much else to it! So get to it and start serenading your loved ones this holiday season!Read More
Download the Backing Track here!Read More
7. Santa's Warm-up Workouts
Ho-Ho-Ho Holiday Guitar Slingers!
Welcome to the Infinite Guitar Santa's Christmas Knuckle Busters!
In this tutorial we will look at some exercises to help you with both right/left hand coordination, but also with mind/hand coordination. It will range from Entry Elf-level stuff to Grinch-ridiculous!
In this first example...Read More
This part is for those of you Elves that have graduated primary school and are ready to move on to Elf college!
Here it gets a little more tricky. The example below is a very simple 3-note per string pattern that follows the logic of the previous 4-note pattern. However, once you've learned using fingers 1-2-3, you should ...Read More
Okay! For those of you Elves that have passed the previous example, it's time to advance to the level of Gnome!
You should all be familiar with the standard A minor (Aeolian) scale by now, so what we will do here is play that in various intervallic sequences. We'll start out with the most common one: thirds. This entails g...Read More
Ahh, the Grinch, the furry little green devil of Christmas that just won't leave us alone! But, in the spirit of his genial personality and insanity, I've devised a special treat for all you Grinches out there.
If you've studied any of my tutorials, you're sure to have come across me rambling on and on about the importanc...Read More
Here is a backing track where you'll hear the triplet rhythm pattern from the Grinch example, now looped. You can play along with this to make sure you are keeping the rhythm and then try it over any pattern or sequence you might know.
Then, you should try making your own examples using different rhythms. Have fun!Read More